Taking cognisance of a viral audio clip in which a police station in-charge is purportedly giving orders to his subordinate to let the trucks filled with illegally mined materials pass as he had received multiple calls allegedly from the local MLA, Director General (Law and Order) Ashok Kumar has ordered Nainital Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) to take immediate actions in the matter. The SSP has reverted the police station in-charge concerned to the lines. Nainital SSP has also given the investigation of the case to the Additional Superintendent of Police there.
The conversation in the said audio clip is between the police station in-charge of Betalghat and his subordinate. In the audio clip the police station in charge is asking his subordinate about his whereabouts. The subordinate tells him that he has detained five to seven trucks filled with illegally mined materials. Hearing this, the police station in-charge said that he has been getting calls from the local MLA and he should let those trucks go. The subordinate hesitates, but the police station in-charge says that they all have contacts with the local MLA.
The audio clip has gone viral on social media after the subordinate was transferred to Bageshwar. However, for the time being his transfer has been put on hold, though the audio clip has raised questions regarding the amount of pressure political leaders exert on the local administration and police department. Some senior police officials have also condemned the action of sharing the audio clip on social media, stating that this undermines the image of the police department.